Cartels are Kenya’s enemy number one

By all accounts, Kenya is a country with much economic potential. Its workforce is relatively well educated. It has a long tradition of a market-based economy. Its industries were historically the most advanced in the region. Its infrastructure has improved significantly in recent years. Macroeconomic policies have been generally sound. 

Yet, its growth performance has been lacklustre. In an earlier piece, I described how an elite-favouring, rent-centred political-economic system is the fundamental cause of slow growth. There is another way to think about it that may have more resonance with the daily experience of Kenyans.